In 1858, a twenty-four year old man named Hermann Sprengel graduated from the University of Heidelberg. As soon as he could, he abandoned his German homeland and settled in England and becoming a British citizen. After working in a couple of different places in and around London, he settled down as a chemist in Kennington.… Read More »
The full title of this book is The Life of Thomas Linacre, Doctor in Medicine, Physician to King Henry VIII, the Tutor and Friend of Sir Thomas More, and the Founder of the College of Physicians in London with Memoirs of His Contemporaries, and of the Rise and Progress of Learning, More Particularly from the Ninth… Read More »
Thomas Linacre, physician to King Henry VIII; a man of Greek and Latin and yet very learned in the field of medicine. He restored the aged and the sick, and even the lost soul. He translated many of the Latin works of Galen with a unique elegance. Shortly before his death, at the request of… Read More »
I love medieval history. I know that makes me weird. It’s ok. Once, my father brought one of his friends up to New Hampshire to visit me. While sitting in a diner, my dad says, “Joe, ask him what he does with his free time.” His friend looked at me. I told him, “I study… Read More »
Yesterday was apparently “National Siblings Day”, and I missed it. To commemorate this rather insignificant day, I have chosen to write about a couple of my favorite siblings. It begins with an empress, the daughter of an English king. Her name was Matilda, and her father Henry Beauclerc (Henry I) was both King of England… Read More »
Those who know me also know about my on-again-off-again obsession with writing a book about David and the rise of Israel during the twilight of the Late Bronze Age and the birth of the Early Iron Age. One day, I will find the time and energy to write that book; but in the meantime, where… Read More »
In 1098, the armies of the First Crusade were besieging the city of Antioch. One of the commanders, Etienne Henri Comte de Blois (Count Stephen Henry of Blois as English historians style his name), abandoned the army and fled back to France. On his way, he encountered the armies of the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos… Read More »
It is a wonder to me that most Americans have no clue who Washington Irving was. Along with a very small group of writers – among them Edgar Allen Poe and James Fenimore Cooper – he was one of the first American writers to receive international acclaim. Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron were fans.… Read More »
The Scriptures contain some very, very strange passages. There are things in the Bible that make even the most committed readers shake their heads in confusion. One of the all-time strangest passages is 1 Kings 22. Why? Just read it. Here’s a little context. Ahab b. Omri became king of Israel in 873 BCE. His… Read More »
This article originally appeared on my MySpace page, way back in April 2006. I was talking with my friend Doug and mentioned it to him. I was sure I had reposted it, but apparently not. The Devil’s Fruit Coffee’s unique properties as a stimulant were discovered by an Ethiopian shepherd named Kaldi. On a long,… Read More »
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